Space industry work
Propulsion & Engines
Measured from 213 distinct posted rates, across 33 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 134 of the 348 listings open here post no pay at all.
Live propulsion roles
Updated 30 Oct 2026, 14:04 UTC
Test Development Engineer (opens the job details)
The Exploration Company · Bordeaux, France· todayDetails
Propulsion Test Engineering Intern (Mojave - Summer 2027) (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Mojave, California· todayDetails
$30/hrPropulsion Test Operations Engineer (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Mojave, California· todayDetails
$110,000–$140,000/yrStaff Propulsion Development Engineer (Thrusters) (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$150,000–$175,000/yrSenior Propulsion Component Engineer (Fluids) (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Boulder, Colorado· todayDetails
$135,000–$165,000/yrSenior Propulsion Component Engineer (Electromechanical) (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$140,000–$195,000/yrSenior Manager, Propulsion Systems (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$175,000–$200,000/yrSenior Spacecraft Design Engineer (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$140,000–$195,000/yrSenior Propulsion Development Engineer (Engine) (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$135,000–$185,000/yrSenior Propulsion Component Engineer (Fluids) (opens the job details)
Impulse Space · Redondo Beach, California· todayDetails
$140,000–$195,000/yr
Design, build and test the engines that move rockets and spacecraft: liquid rocket engines and their turbomachinery, combustion devices and injectors, solid rocket motors, in-space thrusters and electric propulsion, and the fluids and cryogenic systems that feed them. Much of it happens on a test stand, firing hardware and reading the data.
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In short
Propulsion & Engines. Design, build and test the engines that move rockets and spacecraft: liquid rocket engines and their turbomachinery, combustion devices and injectors, solid rocket motors, in-space thrusters and electric propulsion, and the fluids and cryogenic systems that feed them. The usual range is $124k–$250k/yr and the median $150k/yr, both taken from rates printed on postings that are live today. 35 employers hire for it, including Cowboy Space, Portal Space Systems, Momentus.
Who hires for propulsion work
Sorted by the expected value of an application (acceptance odds times posted pay). A referral agreement, if an employer has one, can raise it in this order but never changes the salary it offers.
Our grading rules for pay figures
Weighing employers against each other? Line up propulsion pay at each employer using the pay explorer.
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What our research measures about propulsion work
Read from the open postings on 2026-10-29 by our space industry research, rebuilt every day. Every figure opens the row of the report it comes from.
- Who is hiring230 open roles (2.8% of the space roles we read) at 22 employers, 58 of them posted in the last 30 days.
- Where the jobs are5.7% of these roles are remote; the rest are on-site or hybrid.
- Who can apply66.5% of the postings are open only to US persons or US citizens, and 21.6% name a security clearance.
- Skills and toolsThe skills its postings name most: Python (37%), GD&T (ASME Y14.5) (35%) and Siemens NX (32%).
- Degrees and experience0.0% of the postings take a high school diploma or an associate's degree, 45.4% name a master's or PhD, and they ask for a median of 4 years of experience at the least.
- Pay transparency57.0% of the postings state their pay, at a median $132,000 a year.
- Internships and entry level34 open roles are for someone starting out (14.8% of its open roles).
- Shifts, weekends and travel12.3% of the postings ask for weekend work, 8.8% for overtime or extended hours, and 0.4% name an evening, night or rotating shift.
- What applications askThe application forms for this work ask your citizenship or U.S. person status (83.8% of them), about a security clearance (35.8% of them), your GPA (18.4% of them), SAT, ACT or GRE scores (11.7% of them), your salary expectations (32.4% of them) and whether you have worked or interviewed at the company before (34.6% of them).
From the forum
Ask the people doing Propulsion work what only they can tell you.